Robert
Zemeckis has made almost as many classic
films as Steven Spielberg. He's original,
innovative and, most of all, he's not
pretentious. His films aren't gritty or
anything. They're just fun and interesting.
Sometimes they're even pretty insightful.
This is the guy who brought us the hip
BACK TO THE FUTURE trilogy and then made
the witty and powerful FORREST GUMP.

In
his latest, CAST AWAY, Zemeckis brings
back two of his biggest stars-Helen Hunt
and Tom Hanks. But make no mistake: This
movie is Tom Hanks'. The two-hour-long
survival flick is about two hours of just
Tom and half that is without dialogue.
This makes for a very different type of
movie. Early this year, Zemeckis attempted
to jump-start the suspense genre with
WHAT LIES BENEATH (and ultimately created
the most formulaic movie I've seen in
a while). Here too he tries to cut a new
path. The story isn't original and the
preview seriously does give away almost
everything that happens. Chuck Noland
(Tom Hanks) becomes stranded on a desert
island when his plane crashes. He must
survive to return to the woman he loves
(Hunt). It's the filmmaking that's original
here. You have to recognize just how fresh
and interesting this work is. Zemeckis
doesn't beat you over the head with gimmicks
like TIME CODE or some artsy film. This
is the real thing.

The
acting is, like I said, all Tom Hanks.
And he's really good. Hail to the King,
for he has returned. After a few years
of sleepwalking through roles in THE GREEN
MILE and SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, Hanks gives
it his all and comes off perfectly. I
didn't mind at all that he didn't talk
for an hour. The directing and acting
spoke millions of words. Helen Hunt is
okay, but her Southern accent could have
used some work. Everyone else is almost
entirely unimportant.

The
cinematography is beautiful, vibrant and
fascinating. The entire movie is shot
from Hanks' perspective (including the
airplane wreck), which is quite impressive.
Zemeckis isn't a dried-up director who's
run out of tricks. There are plenty of
trick shots to give even Sam Raimi a run
for his money. It's really exciting to
see such a solid film. If you pay attention,
you can also pick up on quite a few themes
and ideas, something rare for the modern
blockbuster.

Now,
of course, you're probably wondering by
now, why didn't it get five stars. Well,
the ending's a little lackluster. Bravo
for not being shamefully Hollywood, but
it was still sort of disappointing. Also
the entire package-with-wings-drawn-on-it
subplot confused me a little and the CG
shots stuck out like a sore thumb. Still,
it' s a definite must-see.